BEIZHANGLOU VILLAGE, HENAN PROVINCE.\u00a0 Earlier this month, it was reported widely in Chinese media sources that Yang Yuzhi hung herself in the Family Planning Office of Beizhanglou Village, Taikang County, Henan Province.\u00a0 Forcibly sterilized twice, she had for years suffered chronic pain from these traumatic procedures.\u00a0 Her medication drained the family finances, so she regularly petitioned the Family Planning Office for compensation, to no avail.<\/p>\n
On March 13, according to her family, Yang was emotionally stable.\u00a0 There was nothing unusual, no reason to believe that she was at risk of suicide.\u00a0 On this day, she went as usual to press her petition at the Family Planning Office. \u00a0Her family had no idea that she would never return.<\/p>\n
Late that day, the Family Planning Commission told Yang\u2019s family that she had committed suicide, and that they \u201cfound her body hanging at the top of the stairs.\u201d\u00a0 She also appears to have been severely beaten.\u00a0 Her dead body was covered with bruises, and her neck was nearly severed by the wire rope from which she was hanging. Read the full story here:\u00a0 http:\/\/www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org\/blog\/?p=969<\/a><\/p>\n The explanation given by the Family Planning Office raises more questions than it answers.\u00a0 What was Yang doing at the top of the stairs in the Family Planning Office, for an extended period of time, by herself?\u00a0 Was she free to wander unsupervised around the Family Planning Office, with enough time to find a wire rope, attach it securely to the ceiling or another fixture, create a noose and hang herself \u2013 all this in a state of weakness and pain caused by the beatings? \u00a0Why did no one discover that Yang was in the process of hanging herself at the top of the stairs (not in a hidden closet) and stop her?<\/p>\n These unanswered questions raise the issue: \u00a0Was this truly a suicide?\u00a0 Or did the Family Planning Officials torture Yang, then hang her to make it look like a suicide?\u00a0 Women\u2019s Rights Without Frontiers demands an investigation.<\/p>\n This would not be the first time the Chinese Communist Party has been suspected of attempting to cover up a murder as \u201csuicide.\u201d\u00a0 In July 2012, well-known Tiananmen Square activist Li Wangyang was found dead, hanging in a hospital room.\u00a0 His friends called official claims that he had committed suicide \u201cinsulting\u201d and \u201cridiculous,\u201d according to a CNN report.\u00a0 Like Yang, Li was in \u201cgood spirits\u201d the day he was found dead.<\/p>\n Moreover, while the world rightly stares in horror at late-term forced abortion, the death of Yang Yuzhi demonstrates the urgency of stopping forced sterilization as well.\u00a0 Lost in the headlines about the Chinese Communist Party\u2019s recent admission that they have performed 336 million abortions under the One Child Policy is the fact that they also admitted to performing 196 million sterilizations.<\/strong> These sterilizations too often leave women butchered and maimed.<\/p>\n Forced sterilizations are routine.\u00a0 In April 2010, the Population and Family Planning Bureau detained 1,300 people in a campaign to sterilize more than 9,500 people, mostly women, in the Puning City, Guangdong Province.\u00a0 Those who resisted were detained, along with other family members, such as elderly grandparents.<\/p>\n Yang\u2019s death also emphasizes the absence of the rule of law in China.\u00a0 She died while petitioning for justice.\u00a0 Family Planning Officials commonly regard themselves as being above the law.\u00a0 Rarely are they held to account for the many injustices they commit.<\/p>\n The death of Yang Yuzhi, if truly a suicide, also draws the connection between coercive family planning and the fact that China has the highest female suicide rate in the world. It has been reported that 500 women a day end their lives in China.<\/p>\n Take a stand against forced abortion and involuntary sterilization.\u00a0\u00a0 Sign the petition here:<\/p>\n Petition to Stop Forced Abortion<\/p>\n http:\/\/www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org\/index.php?nav=sign_our_petition<\/a><\/p>\n Related Links<\/p>\n China\u2019s One Child Policy Responsible for 336M Abortions, 196M Sterilizations 3\/22\/13 China\u2019s Forced Sterilization Campaign is a Crime Against Humanity 5\/4\/2010 China \u2013 Father\u2019s interview about baby crushed to death during One Child Policy enforcement confirms violent coercion 2\/15\/13 China:\u00a0 Family Planning Official Stabs Man to Death 4\/5\/11 Anger, suspicion over Chinese activist\u2019s \u2018suicide\u2019 6\/8\/12 BEIZHANGLOU VILLAGE, HENAN PROVINCE.\u00a0 Earlier this month, it was reported widely in Chinese media sources that Yang Yuzhi hung herself in the Family Planning Office of Beizhanglou Village, Taikang County, Henan Province.\u00a0 Forcibly sterilized twice, she had for years suffered … Continue reading
\nhttp:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/Big-Peace\/2013\/03\/22\/China-one-child-policy<\/a><\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/n2\/opinion\/chinas-forced-sterilization-campaign-is-a-crime-against-humanity-34698.html<\/a><\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org\/blog\/?p=938<\/a><\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org\/blog\/?p=147<\/a><\/p>\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2012\/06\/07\/world\/asia\/china-li-wangyang-death<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"